Elizabeth Edwards’ breast cancer

Her invasive ductal breast cancer, which I wrote about when she was first diagnosed, has returned.

Although I give John Edwards plenty of heat on this blog, I do wish him and his family all the best during this difficult time.

Comments

CancerDoc
I think to get this news and make such a decision so quickly…to not halt his presidential run… is a mistake. Being around many who get the diagnosis of a now incurable cancer, I feel the Edwards’ don’t quite know the personal ramifications of such a decision. But then again, who knows… we have to respect that people are different and have their own personal factors contributing to their decisions.
Bruce Small
I’ve assured my wife that if she ever gets cancer I will drop everything to hold her hand, be there when she needs to talk, or just wants a hug. Those little things can be very important.
I’m astonished that Edwards doesn’t grasp that.
DR. MARY JOHNSON
As am I.
Anonymous
Did it ever occur to you last two commenters that it’s not your place to judge the decisions made by two people within their own marriage?
Bruce Small
It is if one of them is running for President.
DR. MARY JOHNSON
Agreed Bruce. The pro-Edwards analysts are already playing up his sick wife as Edwards’ “greatest (political) asset”. The spin on this sad development is more than a little unsettling and that’s what I tried to address in my post.
As for judging others, Edwards had no problem judging doctors during his legal career.
Anonymous
Judging the quality of someone’s work based on the evidence of that work is far different from judging the choices a husband and wife make when you’ve never even spoken to the people. Please explain how the choice to continue on with the campaign has anything whatsoever to do with how he would handle the Iraq situation, his tax policy, or any of the other decisions a President makes. You guys are reaching, and making asses of yourselves in the process.
And Edwards didn’t judge those doctors, the juries and their insurers did. The lawyer presents the evidence, he/she doesn’t rule on it.
Anonymous
Incidentally, I’m a McCain voter, so spare me the “Edwards backers” lines.
Vicki Small
If I were the woman facing near-certain death within 5 years, with two young children dependent on me, I would want my husband on hand, not only to support me, but to support our children. I do not think I would be smiling in a news conference and supporting my husband’s arrogant decision to continue his run for the presidency; I’m sure I would give him a far different message. Fortunately, I’m married to a very different kind of man (his name is Bruce.)
And I get sick when I think how Edwards is going to use his wife’s battle with cancer–not *their* battle with cancer–to get women’s support and the sympathy vote.
Anonymous
I would refuse to care for edwards or anyone in his family. I will never take care of a malpractice attorney, don’t think I could be objective and it is my duty to decline to accept them as patients. As far as edwards goes, I wonder what he thinks of his wife’s physician’s. sorry, don’t feel the least bit for him. he put a lot of good docs thru hell
Vicki
By the way, Anonymous, if Edwards were to be elected and Elizabeth’s treatments did not go well, if she even died while he was in office (a strong probability), I would dearly hope he would take time to be with his kids for a while. How could any man possibly be the daddy they need now and will need even more, if he’s “handl[ing] the Iraq situation, [the Iran situation, the North Korea situation, Darfur, Hamas, the border situation, dissension at home, etc.], his tax policy, or any of the other decisions a President makes”? And if he “bravely” pressed on with his presidential duties, leaving the comfort and care of his children to others, he would show himself to be even less of a man than he seems, now.
DR. MARY JOHNSON
Vicki, your first comment is the essence of what I said in my post on my blog.
And Anon, at least when I make an “ass” of myself, I sign my name. But thank you for making another point. Edwards’ abilities as a lawmaker (which we in NC weren’t too impressed with when he was Senator) have NOTHING to do with his wife’s illness. But that’s not what he said. Staying in the race proves he’s a tough guy.
While Edwards was in office, I wrote the Senator on a number of occasions . . . begging for help as an NHSC whistleblower. He turned a deaf ear to this ordinary doctor . . . even as he advocated the very kind of public service programs I got screwed in. When he lost in 2004 and the state of NC created the cush job at UNC-CH, I wrote the “Poverty Center”. And as one of the conservative blogging voices in Greensboro, NC, I’ve dropped a number of hints that if Edwards really wants to know about public service medicine, all he has to do is pick up the phone.
If I haven’t talked to this “champion of the people” it’s not for lack of trying.
Edwards did indeed “judge” doctors . . . not to mention patients & cases as well . . . as he decided which cases to take . . . the big one$ he could win.
Anonymous
The decision to pursue the campaign has all to do with ego, avarice having been at least partially sated by his prior legal career. It doesn’t “take a village” to be President; it “takes an ego”. One does not become notorious without an egocentric persona, physicians included, but politicians in particular. The decision should come as no surprise.
Anonymous
You can chose to let cancer run your life or not. You can still hold your wife’s hand, talk, and hug them without dropping everything.
Going to chemo with my wife to treat her Stage 3B breast cancer, we could see the families that dropped everything and gave cancer more power to rule their lives than it deserved. There was a constant cloud over them and they didn’t allow any normalacy in their lives.
Overt self pity doesn’t help the healing.
Make cancer an incovenience in your life, pretend it’s not there (we call it, informed denial) because no matter what you pretend it isn’t going away so you might as well live the good times to the fullest because there’s going to be a lot of times that aren’t so good.
Elizabeth and John Edwards are a model for LIVING with cancer. Agreed, there are probably a lot of other motives driving the decisions they are making, but if you issolate their choice without all the other influences, I applaud their decision.
Anonymous
Anyone know what her specific diagnosis/staging, etc. was? I am being treated for breast cancer (invasive ductile, HER2+, ER-) and was curious if anyone knows what her specific conditions were. I am feeling positive about my recovery, but my heart sunk when I hears hers had come back and spread. I wonder if she had lymph involvement as well… *sigh*
Anonymous
I was lured to this site because it came up in a google search on breast cancer. You all should be, but aren’t capable of, ashamed of yourselves. This is simply another nasty little neo-con political blog. Using another familie’s pain as usual. Ugh.
Anonymous
The most important question was asked re: HER, ER, PR status of her tumor. If she can be treated with hormones it is reasonable to continue the campaign. If she needs chemo, one would have to question both Edwards’s judgement in general as she will be miserable and dead within 3 years. Time to back off and support the wife.
Anonymous
“If you have not walked in one’s shoes …” I am a breast cancer survivor, and from that perspective I must say many of these posts are conjectures at best … about people whose relationships we do not know. People react to a cancer diagnosis in many different ways. My own response was to do as much as I could with each new day. Once the shock wore off, I found I did not lose my interests, nor did I abandon commitments … these are the things that defined me, and they gave me energy to fight the cancer. Many friends who have met the “Big C” concur. Why not give the Edwards their day? Let their actions speak for how they want to lead their lives. If they give every indication they are handling the situation well, and forging ahead with the nomination bid, so be it. Through his campaign, John Edwards has the chance to focus on important issues that might not come to the table otherwise … whether he obtains the nomination or not. His contribution to the agenda for the next election may be substantial. Making a decision quickly? Don’t think the Edwards’ have not discussed the possibility of a recurrence and how they would deal with it. They have had three years to hash that through – unless they have been in denial. I would be more concerned about John Edwards’ suitability for the nomination if it looked as if they had been broadsided by her recurrence. The fact that they have handled it well indicates that forethought is a characteristic of their way of dealing with life. Better to have a President who can look down the road and see reality than one who seems to be playing cowboy without so much as looking around the corner to see the harm he is bringing to this country on so many levels.
sgillingha
As a two time cancer survivor, I just had to comment. I have never been on this blog before. I think that others that comment on what “they WOULD do if someone was dx with ca” is far different than reality. To be honest the first time I was dx, I was rather cavalier about it. It was very early, and I vowed after a lumpectomy and radiation (no nodes involved) I would take better care of myself, etc etc. Five yrs to the day I was dx with stage 3b..9 nodes involved..on the other side. After a mastectomy, the most intensive chemo available and radiation again. My perspective is quite different from the 1st go-round. I will not let cancer define me, or change other’s goals around me. I do understand somewhat the Edward’s decisions. What kind of person lives in the big black hole of need, that requires constant hugs, attention around the clock etc when they are no where near dying. It is called “living with cancer”. This is the time when couples and families decide to take “those vacations” and make memories while they are healthy and enjoy everyday, not sit and wait for the end to come. The time will come when Elizabeth and others like us will need the hugs etc. I am not backing Edwards, but do understand why they are not letting this define them and their goals. I am sure that any man or woman can find the quality time to spend with a loved one, when life and career also have demands. I wouldn’t want a martyr on my hands either.
Anonymous
I had the same views as many of you in the beginning. I couldn’t understand why he’d continue galavanting all over the country trying to win the presidential election while his wife is dying. I lost my mother to cancer exactly one week after Elizabeth Edwards was informed that her cancer had come back. Now that I’ve had a few months to reflect on my mother’s death, I’m wondering if having Edwards for president might not be such a bad thing. Having to cope with his wife’s illness might make him see just how important a good health care system is in this day and age. It might also cause him to really push for stem cell research, which can save a lot of peoples’ lives. What would be even better is if he realized just how inferior health care is for cancer patients these days. There hasn’t been a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, it seems, since the creation of chemotherapy and radiation, which was almost 50 years ago. If during his presidency he pushed for major improvements in cancer treatment, then I’m all for him running. My mother had terrible treatment with a completely incompetent oncologist. He her whatever chemo drug he had on hand without bothering to run any tests to see which drugs her cancer would respond to. If she’d had better health care, I’m convinced she’d be alive today. At one point, she was extremely constipated and told the oncologist to chech to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread to her colon. He gave her a laxative and sent her home, telling her the constipation was a side effect of the chemo. It turned out my mother was right; the cancer had spread to the colon. By the time it was caught, she was days away from a total blockage. She was dead 6 weeks later. She could have been saved if the oncologist had listened to her. That’s what I’m talking about with inferior health care for cancer patients.

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